A New Zealand man who gave a transvestite prostitute his ATM pin code at a Thailand beach resort was minutes later drugged and robbed of thousands of dollars and jewellery.

Thai police have now arrested a 26-year-old man in relation to the incident.

Bernard John Griffiths, 65, met the prostitute in the popular tourist city Pattaya on December 17, and they agreed to go to a bar, the Pattaya Mail reported.

They went to an ATM machine when Mr Griffiths found he was short of cash.

He told police that he couldn't withdraw any cash because he couldn't read the machine's Thai language.

But rather than choose "English" from the menu, the New Zealander gave his card and the PIN code to the prostitute, who withdrew 10,000 baht ($370) for him, the paper reported.

The pair went to a disco and Mr Griffiths told police that he and the transvestite shared a beer together, but he saw the suspect shaking his drink before giving it to him.

The prostitute told him it was to clear the foam from the bottle.

Mr Griffiths believed the explanation, but after drinking the beer, he quickly passed out in a corner.

Fifteen minutes later, he awoke to find himself alone and without his wallet, visa card, a diamond ring worth $8,000, a gold necklace worth $3,000 and the 10,000 baht cash that was withdrawn from the visa card prior to the drugging, the paper reported.

- APNZ